Dr. Filemon C.

Aguilar Memorial College of Las Piñas Score:

Understanding the Self

Class Activity for Module 4

Name: FLORES, MAUREEN DE VEGA Section: BSA I-1

Activity 1: Pre-Assessment: (20 points) 2points each

Read carefully the following questions. (Type your answers on the space provided)

1. What is an Anthropology?
Anthropology is a systematic study of humanity, it refers to the science of
humans and their culture with the intention of understanding our evolutionary
origins, our uniqueness as a species, and the great diversity of our modes of social
life in the world and across time. It is the study of mankind (anthropos), coming
from the word anthropos meaning man and logos meaning knowledge. This study
looks at humans as something complex in terms of physical, emotional, social, and
cultural complexity. Since anthropology is one of the social sciences, it is, of
course, a requirement, and it is certainly very necessary to regard human beings
as social creatures who cannot possibly lose engaging with each other. Studying
anthropology creates tolerance and a happy life.

2. What is Culture?
Culture is a system of values and beliefs that we share with others, all of
which give us a sense of belonging or identity. Culture is made up of things such
as history, religion, language, practices, principles, beliefs and customs. It's
instilled early in life, but it's constantly changing. It determines who we are and how
we should act and must be understood before successful communication can take
place. The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from
the Latin "colere," which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and
nurture.

3. What is the Identity?

Identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that
make a person or group. It as well involves the many relationships that people
develop, such as their identity as a child, a mate, a partner, and a parent. It involves
external characteristics over which an individual has little to no influence, such as
height, race to socio-economic status. Identity also includes political views, moral
attitudes and religious convictions, all of which influence the choices that one
makes on a daily basis.
4. What is Ethnicity?
Ethnicity is a term that describes shared culture—the practices, values, and
beliefs of a group. This might include shared language, religion, and traditions,
among other commonalities. An ethnic group is a collection of people whose
members identify with each other through a common heritage, consisting of a
common culture which may also include a shared language or dialect. The group’s
ethos or ideology may also stress common ancestry, religion, or race. The process
that results in the emergence of an ethnicity is known as ethnogenesis.

5. What is Identity Crisis?

Theorist Erikson coined the term identity crisis and believed that it was
one of the most important conflicts people face in development. According to
Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of
different ways of looking at oneself. is the failure to achieve ego identity during
adolescence. The stage of psychosocial development in which identity crisis may
occur is called the identity cohesion vs. role confusion. During this stage,
adolescents are faced with physical growth, sexual maturity, and integrating
ideas of themselves and about what others think of them. Adolescents therefore
form their self-image and endure the task of resolving the crisis of their basic ego
identity. Successful resolution of the crisis depends on one's progress through
previous developmental stages, centering on issues such as trust, autonomy,
and initiative.

6. What is Nature

Nature in anthropology includes the core characteristics (feelings,

psychology, behaviors) shared by all people. We all have different experiences of
the humans in our life, and this is where the disputes begin. Some people will tell
you humans are 'good' or 'bad', or 'predators' or 'capable of great kindness.' These
views are colored by the influence of the people we know and what our culture and
subcultures tell us. The group you are born into will pass on its particular ideas
about what makes humans 'human.'
Thus, Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who
we are—from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics.

7. What is Nurture

Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are,
including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social
relationships, and our surrounding culture. The concept of nurture highlights the
 importance of social environments – who you’re with, and not who you’re born to
– and its significant influence on social emotional skills, wellbeing and behavior.
The nurturing approach offers a range of opportunities for children and young
people to engage with missing early nurturing experiences, giving them the social
and emotional skills to do well at school and with peers, develop their resilience
and their capacity to deal more confidently with the trials and tribulations of life, for
life.

8. What is Egocentric Self

Egocentrism refers to someone's inability to understand that another

person's view or opinion may be different than their own. It represents a cognitive
bias, in that someone would assume that others share the same perspective as
they do, unable to imagine that other people would have a perception of their own.
Egocentric people can find it difficult to connect with others or maintain meaningful
relationships for a long period of time. The bias toward self can result in an
egocentric person struggling at home, at work, and within their intimate
relationships.

9. What is Sociocentric Self

Sociocentric self or sociocentrism happens when a person puts the needs

and concerns of a social group ahead of his or her own needs and concerns. The
word is combined from socio and centric. Sociocentrism is the opposite of
egocentrism, which is when a person puts his or her needs and concerns before
all others. The self is viewed as dependent on the situation or social setting. This
is the view of the self which is context dependent; there is no intrinsic self that can
possess enduring qualities. It is as well defined as the tendency to assume the
superiority or rightness of one's own social group.

10. What is Separation

In anthropology, separation is referred to the rite of passage is a ceremony

or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter
another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural
anthropology the term is the Anglicization of rite de passage, a French term
innovated by the ethnographer Arnold van Gennep in his work Les rites de
passage, "The Rites of Passage". The term is now fully adopted into anthropology
as well as into the literature and popular cultures of many modern languages.
A. Multiple Choice. (1pt. each – 5 pts.)
(Instruction: Encircle the letter that corresponds to your answer.)

1. Which of the following is a characteristic of anthropology?

A. It is concerned with both human biology and culture
B. It is concerned with human variation, evolution, and adaptation
C. It focuses only on prehistoric societies
D. a and b

2. Which of the following is true about anthropology?

A. It usually is preferable to do anthropological research alone rather than

with a team of researchers.
B. Anthropology as an academic discipline is comparatively young. Its
roots go back to the intellectual Enlightenment of the 18th and early
19th centuries in Europe & North America
C. Most anthropologists today are generalists- they master all of the fields
of anthropology
D. All professional anthropologists now work in colleges, universities, or
museums.

3. Culture is:
A. entirely learned during our lifetimes.
B. the full range of learned behavior patterns and knowledge acquired
by people as members of a society.
C. what made it possible for humans to transform themselves from relatively
insignificant plant and dead animal scavengers in Africa to a truly global
species capable of controlling the fate of all other species.
D. all of the above

4. Which of the following best describe how anthropologists primarily learn

new information about humans?
A. field work
B. laboratory experiments
C. reading travelers accounts
D. none of the above

5. Most anthropologists share all of the following except

A. A comparative approach
B. An evolutionary perspective
C. A holistic emphasis on the human condition
D. A biostatistical orientation
Essay: 10 points (Minimum of 30 words)
In your own opinion, what is the bad tradition in the Philippines that we need to
Stop? Why?

Indeed, that our beloved country, the Philippines is a country that has varied
cultural influences. Most of these influences are results of previous colonization, deriving
mainly from the culture of Spain and the United States. Despite all of these influences,
the old Asian culture of Filipinos has been retained and are clearly seen in their way of
life, beliefs and customs. Making us known as a home with variety of cultures and
traditions that are very evident and has largely been appreciated and even applauded in
many parts of the world.

But for every positive side, lies and hides negative ones and If I am to ask, our
tradition that is needed to be stopped as soon as possible and must be given much
attention is the culture of gossips or most commonly known in tagalog as “chismis”.
It is a habit where Filipinos, specially people with the same neighborhood or may it be in
school, work, or in the professional office, tend to gather around and talk about the private
lives of other people. Mostly, in a negative way. This results to a lot of bad effects specially
in the growth of a person, group and the society. It affects people’s relationship and bond
to one another, making it hard to communicate that leads to a very unhealthy living.

Gossips should not ever be normalized. According to Ephesians 4:29, “Do not
let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for
building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
We judge others every day, often without realizing. But then, judging a person does not
define who they are, it defines who you are. Instead of putting and bringing other people
down, we should rather uplift and build one another just as how the Lord wanted us to.

“Gossip betrays confidence, so avoid anyone who talks too much.” (Proverbs
20:19) We should all as well learn to value and respect other people’s personal life and
privacy. Like just how we like others to value ours. Respecting other people’s privacy is
similar to understanding limits and boundaries. We should always knock before we enter
anybody’s houses and bedrooms. On the other hand, if we don’t knock before we enter
anybody’s houses and bedrooms, we would be pushing and crossing those limits and
boundaries.
People establish boundaries from others in society. These boundaries are both
physical and informational. We need places of solitude to retreat to, places where we are
free of the gaze of others in order to relax and feel at ease. This means that everyone
needs their own personal space, even in the public. Everyone has a personal bubble of
space. We have a zone which is ours and ours alone that we don’t want people to venture
into.